It has been customary, to date, to consider a telephone answering device as basically a tape recorder attached to a telephone. In general, recording of outgoing messages (OGM) on a telephone answering device (TAD) has been done through a microphone installed in the base of the TAD. One problem with this is that it can be difficult to get close enough to the microphone in order to input a message, especially if the TAD is in a wall mounted position Furthermore, due to the omnidirectional nature of such a microphone, and the greater distance of the user from the microphone, a great deal of background noise is recorded making it difficult for a listener to understand a recorded message. Another problem that arises is the amount of tape noise recorded due to the proximity of the tape drive to the microphone.
A further problem with prior art TADs has been that only the telephone attached to the TAD will cause the TAD to stop playing or recording a message once the handset of the telephone has been picked up. A person who picks up an extension telephone in another room is incapable of disabling the TAD and consequently must wait for the TAD to complete its processes before starting a conversation with the caller.